Handloader April/May 2019

Every now and then a reader writes to ask about bullet seating depth with cast or jacketed bullets, mostly concerning revolvers and, occasionally, semiautomatic pistols. The question concerns pressure. As a rule, seating the bullet deeper causes pressure to increase somewhat, and seating the bullet out a bit reduces pressure. The problem is that readers who contact the office almost never mention the overall loaded length (OAL) they want to use in relation to the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) or quoted standard for the bullet in question. That is, OAL compared to what? ...Read More >

If you do much handloading, particularly with rifle cartridges, sooner or later you are going to stick a case in a sizing die. The usual culprit is not enough – or no – sizing lube. In order to prevent lube dents in a case shoulder, lube needs to be used sparingly, and you might use too little. Usually this happens when time is short and a handloader is impatient. He figures he can size just one case to load a bullet in a dummy round to adjust the seating die. ...Read More >

I have been using Hodgdon CFE 223 powder in various .223 Remington and .308 Winchester bolt action rifles that I shoot. I have been reasonably pleased with the velocity and accuracy, not outstanding, but certainly good. What pleases me most is the minimal copper barrel fouling. I would like to use this same powder in my Ruger and Remington rifles chambered for .30-06. Both are fitted with 22-inch barrels. ...Read More >

Had the U.S. followed a path toward the metric system instead of the U.S. Customary System, many American cartridges would not exist because metric rounds duplicated their performance. Our cartridge this time is one such metric round that, with a little load development, could replace several American cartridges – and it predates all of them. The story begins with the second smokeless powder military round. ...Read More >

Western Powders of Miles City, Montana, purveyors of the Ramshot and Accurate lines of smokeless powders, plus Blackhorn, a black powder substitute, and the Montana Extreme line of gun care products, has been busy lately. A few years ago, the company brought its extruded line of Accurate powders closer to home, having them manufactured by the Canadian facility now owned by U.S. defense contractor General Dynamics. ...Read More >

No sixgun can match the colorful and historical role of the Colt Single Action Army revolver. In the annals of U.S. history it was carried extensively by courageous and famous characters including soldiers and generals, pioneers, lawmen, outlaws, farmers and cowboys, with many of them literally staking their lives on its reliability and power. ...Read More >

Why would anyone load black powder in cartridge revolvers? It is dirty, cleanup is messy and it smells funny, so I really do not have a good rationale. Perhaps the following was my reason. These lyrics are from an old Marty Robbins song titled “Mr. Shorty” on his album Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs. They went like this, “The forty-four spoke and it sent lead and smoke, and 17 inches of flame.” ...Read More >

During its infancy, the sport of modern benchrest competition was dominated by the .220 Swift along with wildcats such as the .220 Wilson Arrow, .22-250 and .219 Donaldson Wasp. There were few restrictions on the types of rifles used, but those of conventional design and shape were eventually divided into two classifications. Rifles approved for Light Varmint Class could not exceed 10.5 pounds in weight while maximum for Heavy Varmint Class rifles was 13.5 pounds. ...Read More >

In 1901, C.W. Rowland of Boulder, Colorado, fired one of the most famous accuracy groups in history: ten shots, 200 yards, .721 inch. Fifty years later, this benchrest record still stood. Given the advances made in measuring equipment in the inter... ...Read More >

Looking back almost 50 years, it is hard to believe that I once owned only a single centerfire rifle along with one suitable bullet mould. It was a U.S. Model 1903A3 “Springfield” .30-06, and the mould was Lyman’s No. 311291 for a 170-grain roundnose with gas check. At this late date I cannot remember if that .30-06 had a two- or four-groove barrel. What I do remember is how well it shot cast bullets. ...Read More >

Remington officially adopted the .22-250 Remington in 1965 and began offering rifles and ammunition. This high-velocity, .22-caliber cartridge immediately gained widespread acceptance among varmint shooters and hunters as it offers outstanding accuracy and terminal results. With modern bullets and powders, its accuracy and effective range have been increased to new levels. However, to optimize performance, handloading is required. ...Read More >

The .44 Special is one of our oldest handgun cartridges, and still one of the most popular and most useful. Introduced by Smith & Wesson around 1907, it has been in continuous production ever since. ...Read More >

Saving money is a major reason for handloading. That savings comes from reusing the centerfire brass case, the only part of a cartridge not consumed when the cartridge is fired, and it is usually the most expensive part of the cartridge. By investing time in preparative steps that put cases back into shape for handloading, cost of the brass is only pennies each time the case is turned into a cartridge and fired. ...Read More >

Major ammunition companies dominated the American market for component cartridge cases during the last half of the twentieth century. Smaller companies showed up now and then, primarily offering brass for European or older American rounds, but they usually disappeared in a few years. ...Read More >

There are people today who believe the printed word in the form of books is obsolete. All we need, they say, is a “plastic box” connected to the Internet, and knowledge will flow like spring water, dissipating ignorance as does darkness at sunrise. Well, maybe, but sunrise has a much better track record regarding reliability. ...Read More >